Prince Philip celebrates his 93rd birthday today with a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

About 8,000 guests are expected to descend on the royal residence to take tea in the 40 acre gardens.

The Duke of Edinburgh will be joined on the Palace terrace by the Queen and other members of the royal family including the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, Princess Eugenie and the Princess Royal.

The royals will circulate through the lanes of guests on their way to the Royal tea tent after listening to a rendition of the National Anthem by a military band.

A 41-gun salute will be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from London's Hyde Park at noon in celebration.

An hour later the Honourable Artillery Company will fire a 62-gun salute from Gun Wharf at the Tower of London, with the extra guns a tribute from the citizens of the City of London.

The Duke, who shows no signs of slowing down amid a packed programme of engagements, has a busy run of events this week despite having just returned from a high profile three day state visit to France to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Last night he joined the Queen, who turned 88 in April, at a Palace reception in honour of the UK's technology sector.

The Duke's busy schedule contrasts greatly with his previous two birthdays.

Last year, he spent his 92nd birthday in hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery. He stayed at the London Clinic for 11 days and spent two months convalescing.

In 2012, he left hospital just the day before his 91st birthday after falling ill with a bladder infection during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and pulled out of several engagements in order to recuperate.

He is the longest serving consort in British history and also the oldest serving partner of a reigning monarch.